Jordi Cruyff looked back at Maccabi’s 1:0 victory against Maccabi Petach Tikva in the first leg of the Israel State Cup Quarterfinals. The Sports Director discussed Eliel Peretz, Ruben Micael and the difficulty of playing Petach Tikva:

“It was a difficult game and difficult opponent with a very difficult system to play against. But in the Cup it’s two game and we can’t think that anything is done. We have to come with the same attitude but of course before the game if you would have told me we would win the game 0:1 I would’ve taken it. Now the game is finished and we focus in Monday.”

Playing Petach Tikva on Monday again:

“It’s very difficult and we already experienced it last year when we played the same team twice in a row. I don’t remember us being successful as we played the Cup final against Haifa after beating Haifa in the league. It’s a stat that exists and everyone knows about it. We have to show enough character to beat the statistics. It’s very difficult to beat the same team two times, but if we want to be successful this year this is what we have to do.”

Giving the whole squad a chance to play:

“I’ve always said that in modern football there is not a fixed 11 and we’re all here to give a big plus to the club. In that aspect we had a lot of light injuries with some players that haven’t played in a long time. But they all showed that they can play for Maccabi Tel Aviv. I’m very happy about that.

About Ruben Micael:

“We were waiting for the last minute that Nosa would probably leave and we got a very good offer for a player who finishes a contract in three months time. But we already had him on our radar and we knew it was a possibility that on the last day of the transfer window we would go for a 6th foreigner for a player like him and that’s what we did. I think he showed today what he’s capable of and you have to remember that he has played in the last three months because he was in the Chinese league. He will need some time and we wanted to give him 60 minutes today and he gave us good energy. It’s important that the teammates see that it’s a competitive squad and that everyone can help. He did his job and gave the midfield the chance to support the attack. I’m very happy with his performance.”

Tal Ben Chaim’s performance:

“When he is on the field Tal takes the penalties and he’s been scoring goals so nothing really has changed. He scored a super goal and he was there when we needed him. He scored what could be a very important goal for the round.”

About Eliel Peretz:

“He’s been training very good for at least since I’ve been watching the trainings from close up and also has showed personality by shooting a penalty in the last round. I’m pleased with him.”